Tips for leaving fish when going on holiday?

[SansyFrance]

Hello all

I have a question that may sound a little silly and obvious, but what should I do about my tanks when I go out of town? Next weekend my family and I are going on Holiday for the Valentine's Day weekend, so I'll be out of town from anywhere from 3-5 days. Currently I have two aquariums with 5 fish and one snail total, and possibly some baby Platies that will be born before that. Making the number of fish increase exponentially. None of the fish are very high-Maintenence fish, (3 Platies, one Betta, a mystery snails, and an albino Cory cat) so I'm sure there is a way to make sure they survive that short time when I'm gone. I've researched SEVERAL ways that I can use, but I guess my question is

What are some methods of leaving your fish when you go on holiday that you have tried that work well. That are reliable and such.
And especially, what should I do about the Platy Fry?


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[Beej1254]

I'll start off saying I haven't had to leave my tank yet..

BUT if I was going on vacation I think best case scenario would be to ask a trusted friend to keep an eye on it for me. Much like if I had a dog or cat at home. I could then write up a schedule for feeding and even portion it out and also provide very basic care if needed. I've envisioned preparing an emergency water change kit in the event something called for it.

Do your normal maintenance on the tanks as closely to the time you leave as possible. This way you know the tanks are ready to go. I'd probably feed before doing the maintenance too then clean up after the new fish waste. You could get an auto feeder but 3-5 days may be ok for them to not eat..

Sense you definitely want to keep those fry happy and safe I think separating the fish ready to have them in a breeder box. One that can separate the new fry from the mothers after birth so they don't get eaten. I think this will be the hardest part because those fry will need to eat. Because the diet of these fry will rely on food small enough for them to eat and fed frequently through the day I'm really not sure on how to overcome that challenge. It seems to me that it in an aquarium they will almost need someone to be there.

Like I said I've never had this challenge yet but this is my basic start to a plan. I'm really hoping someone with experience chimes in because I'd like to know as well.

Good luck!


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[Delapool]

If it's three days I don't bother setting up anything for feeding. The plants get pruned but the fish are fine I find. Everything else is on timers anyways.

Longer trips and I set up an auto-feeder. I've found testing this the day before is handy to see what it actually does.

 

[Darkfalcon]

Hello all

I have a question that may sound a little silly and obvious, but what should I do about my tanks when I go out of town? Next weekend my family and I are going on Holiday for the Valentine's Day weekend, so I'll be out of town from anywhere from 3-5 days. Currently I have two aquariums with 5 fish and one snail total, and possibly some baby Platies that will be born before that. Making the number of fish increase exponentially. None of the fish are very high-Maintenence fish, (3 Platies, one Betta, a mystery snails, and an albino Cory cat) so I'm sure there is a way to make sure they survive that short time when I'm gone. I've researched SEVERAL ways that I can use, but I guess my question is

What are some methods of leaving your fish when you go on holiday that you have tried that work well. That are reliable and such.
And especially, what should I do about the Platy Fry?


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1. Clean all the filters before you go and make water changes 1 day before u go.

2. If you have an auto-feeder machine then use them on your frys. If you still have some to spare or if you have enough auto-feeder, put them on the rest of the tanks you have. (If you wondered which fish should be your priority, make a research on which fish needs to be fed more often or who can easily die from hunger).

3. The cory cat can survive for a long duration. It can eat algae, etc. The betta and platty should be given food at least once or twice a day to have a steady growth rate. The snails can take care of themselves. Your problem will be the frys.

4. Your last problem is how often did black out/power outbreak happen in your place?? This can be a very big problem if the black out happens for a more than 4 hours. For now I don't have any suggestion on this problem.

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[Darkfalcon]

If it's three days I don't bother setting up anything for feeding. The plants get pruned but the fish are fine I find. Everything else is on timers anyways.

Longer trips and I set up an auto-feeder. I've found testing this the day before is handy to see what it actually does.

True, for 3 days of trip there should be no problem, but since he said 3-5 there is a chance of the trip getting longer than planned. Auto-feeder is optional as long as the trip is not longer than 5-7 days.

About the plants you might give them a liquid fertilizer (in the right dose) and they might last for more than a week. Might....

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[SansyFrance]

True, for 3 days of trip there should be no problem, but since he said 3-5 there is a chance of the trip getting longer than planned. Auto-feeder is optional as long as the trip is not longer than 5-7 days.

About the plants you might give them a liquid fertilizer (in the right dose) and they might last for more than a week. Might....

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Thank you all for the help! Y'all have some great ideas. (Also I'm a she ) Here's a little info.

Blackouts don't happen at my house very often at all (knock on wood). The only blackout we had was during severe weather and it only lasted for 2 minutes.

The trip I'm taking will be no longer than five days, since Several people going, including myself, have to be back on a certain day for classes. So I have no worry of it exceeding 5 days.

The fry will be in their own tank, so I'm thinking possibly an auto-feeder for them. But I'll test it and see.

And if an auto feeder seems to be my best bet, I could probably find or purchase two, one for the frys and one for the main tank. By then I'll have moved the two female plates I have separated back into my main tank, so I'll only have two inhabited tanks.

Side note: Do y'all have opinions on feeder cubes/feeder blocks that you put into tanks meant for vacation??


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[Beej1254]

I really liked this one when I had it

EHEIM Everyday Fish Feeder Programmable Automatic Food Dispenser https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001F2117I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_LL1SwbVQ21MGZ


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[Darkfalcon]

I really liked this one when I had it

EHEIM Everyday Fish Feeder Programmable Automatic Food Dispenser https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001F2117I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_LL1SwbVQ21MGZ


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Cool, sadly my country has some economical problems so importing is not an option for me :'( I'll look for auto-feeder in my nearby lfs. I never had one since I used to have few fishes and only 1 tank to take care of. Now I have plenty of different species and different tanks, so I'm going to look for auto-feeders soon. Anyway thx for ur info

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[sheilak]

feeder blocks

the ones ive ever used will totally foul your tank and maybe kill your fish in my ho I would rather feed before I go and not feed at all than to use the feeder blocks